


Stay With Me

by SpiritMuse



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 09:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11033307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritMuse/pseuds/SpiritMuse
Summary: "Noct!"He barely had time to turn before a body collided with his and he tumbled, too fast to see what was happening, except that one, clear flash of Ignis' face twisted in a terrible grimace of pain.Then he hit the concrete heavily, and found himself looking up at the other man, in a daze."Are you alright?" Ignis looked harried, his glasses askew on his face."Yes," Noctis managed to say.





	Stay With Me

**Author's Note:**

> This bit of fic was inspired by a beautiful painting by the amazing Brilcrist. I hope it measures up. ^^

  
"Noct!"

He barely had time to turn before a body collided with his and he tumbled, too fast to see what was happening, except that one, clear flash of Ignis' face twisted in a terrible grimace of pain.

Then he hit the concrete heavily, and found himself looking up at the other man, in a daze.

"Are you alright?" Ignis looked harried, his glasses askew on his face.

"Yes," Noctis managed to say.

Ignis pushed up his glasses and stood up to face the hobgoblins again, his turn revealing the ugly gashes on his back.

"You're hurt!" Noctis scrambled back to his feet as fast he could, head still swimming a little.

"I'm fine," Ignis grunted as he jumped aside to evade yet another attack, "'tis but a flesh wound!" And he surged forward to plunge his blade into a fleshy part the hobgoblin had left open in its attack.

Knowing it was useless to argue, Noctis conjured one of his blades and joined the fray again. His lingering dizziness made him sluggish, however, and he wasn't quite fast enough to avoid the giant fist of the hobgoblin that came barrelling at his head.

As pain blossomed on his skull Noctis saw nothing but stars before he suddenly found himself on the ground again. By the time he was able to refocus and get his bearings, Ignis was already there and the offending daemon was falling to the floor, slowly dissolving into black smoke.

He looked back at Noctis. "Noct, are you alright?"

"Yes," Noctis groaned as he pushed himself up, "again."

Then Ignis was leaping across Noctis blades first at the last remaining daemon. Between the two of them the single injured daemon presented little challenge and its remaining life was measured in seconds.

They were both breathing hard as they watched the black smoke rise and slowly dissipate.

Noctis looked over at Ignis standing beside him. The gashes on his back were ugly and red. He couldn't quite stop himself reaching out a hand. Ignis winced as his fingers touched the blood.

"Specs, you're hurt."

"Yes, I know." Ignis' voice sounded just a little too sharp. "It'll have to wait. We're out of potions."

They were. They hadn't had a lot to begin with and then they'd given half of them to Prompto and Gladio when they'd split up earlier.

"It appears we were ill prepared," Ignis continued, "my deepest apologies."

Noctis sighed.

"Not like we knew there'd be this many daemons in here."

Ignis didn't reply.

"We should probably just get out of here," Noctis continued, "maybe come back later."

"Agreed."

As if on cue, pools of black smoke started forming on the floor, heralding the arrival of even more daemons. If they had been the four of them they could have handled it easily. But with just the two of them, as battered as they were, it wouldn't go well.

"Run."

Following Ignis' calm instruction, Noctis turned and ran back down the corridor they came from, Ignis on his heels. They turned a corner, then another, the sounds of the daemons following them at a merciful distance. They flew around another corner and found themselves practically bumping into a pair of flans. Or puddings. Or whichever ones these were.

Fortunately, as resistant as they were to weapons, these creatures also tended to be relatively slow so the pair quickly danced around them and continued on their way.

Another corner. A corridor with quite a few doors, and the next corner found them not quite so lucky. A whole pack of imps was just rising out of the ground as they skidded to a halt.

"What now?" Noctis looked around frantically.

"Here, this way," Ignis pulled him back around the corner and down the corridor before the imps could spot them. They went past one, two, three sets of doors, then Ignis threw open one of the fourth.

"In here!"

They rushed inside and everything went dark when Ignis closed the door. Noctis tried to keep his breathing quiet as they listened for any noise outside. There was a vague sound of what would likely be the imps scurrying around in the corridor, but nothing that seemed to be deliberately approaching their hiding place.

"You think we'll be safe here?" Noctis breathed.

"As long as they don't go searching, we should be," Ignis responded just as quietly, "and it's not likely that they will."

"Good," Noctis sighed. He stumbled backwards away from the door, headache and dizziness and exhaustion catching up with him, until he unexpectedly hit a wall. He let himself lean against it.

The darkness was dispelled by a small, yellow light above their heads. It revealed a small room, probably a storage closet of some sort. It was just as old and dilapidated as the rest of the complex.

"Ah, it still works," Ignis said from a spot near the wall. Noctis couldn't suppress a gasp when he saw how bloodied Ignis' shirt had become.

"Specs..."

"I'm fine, Noct. It looks worse than it is." Ignis' voice was steady but his posture betrayed his exhaustion. With only a couple of strides he crossed the small room until he was right next to Noctis.

"Stop doing that, Specs," Noctis said, his worry clear in his voice, "you're not fine. I know you."

Ignis briefly closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging, and leaned sideways against the wall, carefully avoiding it touching his injured back. When he opened his eyes again, they looked tired and worryingly unfocused behind his glasses.

"I am, though," he protested softly, "It's not a serious injury. I'm only a bit tired, is all."

He leaned forward and pulled Noctis into a tight hug, and Noctis felt him burying his face in his hair. Noctis wasn't quite sure what to do with his hands, he didn't want to put them across Ignis' injured back. Eventually he decided to wrap them up around his shoulders.

"I'm just glad that you're okay," Ignis whispered.

There were a million things Noctis wanted to say. That he loved Ignis. That he worried for him. That he was thankful that he was always by his side. That Ignis was an idiot for putting himself in danger so recklessly. In the end, he found himself unable to say any of those things. He didn't know how.

He never knew how.

They held each other for a little while longer, and slowly Ignis' hands loosened their grip and he became heavy in Noctis' arms.

"Specs?"

Ignis didn't respond.

"Specs? Are you alright?"

Noctis couldn't hold him up so he slid down against the wall until they were seated on the ground, legs tangled together.

"Ignis," he said as loudly as he dared, fear rising in his throat, "Ignis, please, wake up."

Ignis still didn't respond, but the quiet breathing in his ear proved he was still alive, at least.

"Ignis, please," he pleaded.

He held onto the injured, unconscious man tightly. For the first time, he had a clear picture of just how much Ignis was willing to give for him. Just how far he would go.

He'd heard him say it, of course. Giving your life for the Crown Prince, it was part of the Crownsguard oath. But he'd never truly understood what it meant.

Until now.

This man, the man he loved more than anything in the world, would give his life for him. He would really, actually do it. He almost had, just now. Without hesitation he had jumped in between Noctis and a Daemon, letting himself get injured instead. Then he'd pushed himself to keep going, to keep protecting Noctis, staying at his side until his body gave out.

It terrified Noctis. The thought that Ignis would do that. That he would really go that far. The thought that Ignis might die because of him. That he would lose the love of his life.

He'd much rather die himself than live without him.

He held on tighter to the unconscious body in his arms and silently cursed him. Why did he have to be that way? Why did he have to be so eager to sacrifice himself... to leave Noctis alone?

For a moment Noctis' mind flailed in terrified anger. How could Ignis do that to him? He'd already lost so much. His country, his home, his father... he couldn't possibly bear losing Ignis too and Ignis knew that, godsdammit.

Tears fell from his eyes as he buried his face into an unresponsive shoulder. If Ignis was awake he'd be the one holding Noctis, rubbing his hands soothingly across his back as he whispered comforting words. But he wasn't.

He wasn't sure how long he'd sat there, in the quiet, tears rolling down his face, the meagre light of the yellow lamp his only comfort, when he started hearing voices outside the door. They were far away and unclear, but he thought he could make out Gladio. It had to be Gladio. He and Prompto were the only two other people there.

Suddenly there was the faint screeching of an imp, followed by yelling and gunshots. Fear coiled in Noctis' stomach. The imps were still there. He knew he should go out there, help his friends, but he found himself unable to move. Unable to let go of the man in his arms.

Fresh tears formed in his eyes. Why couldn't he move? Why did he always let other people fight for him, get hurt for him? Why was he such a failure?

After what seemed like an eternity, the noise of the fighting stopped, and Noctis held his breath as he listened intently for their voices again.

There they were. Noctis let out a sigh of relief. They started getting closer, louder, until he was able to make out their words.

"Where could they be?" Prompto's voice sounded more worried than he'd ever heard it.

"If they ran into as much trouble as we did, they probably turned back, too."

"But then we should have run into them by now, right?"

They had to be right in front of the doors now. Noctis tried to call out to them, but his voice only croaked. He cleared his threat and tried again.

"Guys..."

"Wait, what was that?" Fortunately, Gladio was as observant as ever.

"I didn't hear anything."

"Shhh, be quiet."

"Guys, in here!" Noctis managed to say a little louder.

"That's Noct!" Prompto had heard him too, now.

"They must have been hiding all that time, where did it come from?"

"The door, right there!"

A few noisy steps, and suddenly Noctis was bathed in light as the door swung open. Gladio was in the doorway, flanked by Prompto. He could only look up at them mutely, holding on tightly to the injured man in his arms as more tears rolled out of his eyes. Finally they were safe. Everything would be alright now.

Ignis would be alright.

He had to be.

**Author's Note:**

> [Here is the painting.](http://brilcrist.tumblr.com/post/161201080134/brilcrist-tragic-ignoct-art-coz-im-a-monster) So beautiful. ;_;  
> [And if you want to read the inception of this fic ^^ ](https://twitter.com/agikun/status/867670836894867456)


End file.
